Forever Young Birth Of A Nation, page 47
At the tent flap he called softly “Moon Owl. Come help me.”
She came to him, knowing by the tone of his voice that something was wrong.
“Quickly! I killed a vampire and we have to take him away from here now!” Shortly the two of them were rocketing to the west, each carrying a grisly burden. Some twelve miles distant they came across a rocky escarpment overlooking a wooded ravine. There were no homes within sight of the place or nearby so they left the remains in the middle of the bare rocky area to burn up at sunrise.
“We’d best get back as quickly as possible lest someone come by and discover us both gone.” In minutes they were at their tent and Moon Owl quickly ducked inside, fixing both of a small portion of the stew staying hot on the stove while Ian took the cart away from the area. In fact some ten minutes after that, Darren Roberts came to the tent flap and identified himself.
Inviting him into the warm tent, Ian and Moon Owl pretended surprise at the news as he excitedly told of the attempted assassination attempt. Ian questioned him somewhat, acting surprised that such a bold thing would be attempted. They offered some of their stew, so he thanked them and filled a bowl and sat down to eat.
Ian said they thought they heard something going on in camp, but figured it was just a brawl between two soldiers. Even now there was the sound of a lot of men moving about and orders being shouted as the search widened. Some twenty minutes later a platoon of soldiers came to the tent flap and one of them called out. Moon Owl opened the flap and a sergeant came inside and related the event, asking if they had seen or heard anyone who might be the assassin.
All looked wide-eyed at him and Roberts offered that he had just come to the tent and had himself just told the McClouds what had happened. The young sergeant departed and they could hear the platoon move on to return to the camp and start searching another row of tents.
Later after Darren left, Ian gave the details to Moon Owl who then asked “What does this mean?”
“I don’t know, but we’re not the only vampires in the new world anymore. There is a coven of them somewhere now, and they’ll soon know that they failed to get Washington.”
Looking earnestly at him she said “They are soon going to know that they lost a vampire tonight and that at least one is here with Washington too.”
Chapter 90
Cosette came to the foyer following the butler, an inquisitive look on her face as she smiled saying “Good morning, Lucas. How can I help you?”
“Good morning, Cosette. I came to beg a favor.” She merely raised her eyebrows inquisitively so he continued “We have found another body and I wondered if you and Stuart would look at it.”
“Whatever for?”
“I… I hoped you might… you know… you might remember something since the last time this happened.”
“Stuart is taking Rebecca to the waterfront to buy fish this morning. We could come by if you’ll tell me where the body is. But I don’t know what we can tell you.”
“Our medical examiner looked at it and there was massive bruising about the torso, on the ribs on the back of the corpse. It looked as if something had held the victim so tightly as to bruise him. It was something quite strong because this was a large muscular young man.”
“Were there bite marks?”
“Yes. They were identical to the other victim and there was hardly any blood in the victim either.”
“You have the expertise of a medical examiner, and yet you want our input? Pray tell me why that is, sir.”
Stepping closer, he lowered his voice and said “I don’t in any way suspect either of you, Cosette. I have heard of creatures… beings that… creatures that drink blood and are very strong. I… I saw you and Stuart looking at each other the last time you saw that man. You know… the man we found near this house.”
“Mr. Ross, what are you trying to tell me?”
“I think that maybe a vampire is killing people in New York City.”
The grandfather clock ticked the seconds away as a crow outside called raucously while Cosette looked calmly at Lucas with her exquisitely beautiful gray eyes. She said “Do you know what you sound like right now, Deputy Ross?”
“Please, Cosette. Don’t be offended. I… I just have never seen anything like this and I hoped that maybe you and Stuart might have seen a similar thing before and maybe you… maybe you just do not want to share that with… with anyone else if you know what I mean.”
“Deputy Ross, I wouldn’t be talking about this to anyone else if I was in your place. People will think that you are daft, and that can’t help the career of any lawman. I’m not speaking for Stuart, but I’ll go with you to see this thing if you promise me something.”
“Yes, I’ll promise you if it is something I can do.”
“Very well, Deputy Ross. I really like the people in this house and I really like Laura Millhouse very much. I think you do too. So for her sake, I’ll look at the body and you’ll never speak of this again. I don’t want her to be embarrassed by being connected to someone who may someday be publicly accused of being delusional.”
He stood then, looking at her as he thought I can keep that promise easily enough. Who else can I even speak with about this? “Very well, Cosette. We have a bargain.”
***
June Stedman, Grundy, Yvonne, Stefan and Priscilla sat together in the parlor of the Stedman home. “Lester is dead? How is that possible” asked Yvonne in shock.
June sobbed for a bit, her arms wrapped tightly about herself as she rocked to and fro “I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. He just had to do it and he was so certain that he could succeed and now he is dead! My God! My husband is dead, all because you made us into vampires!”
She stood then, her tear-stained face twisted in anger as she said “My Lester would be alive today if not for you, Yvonne. Why couldn’t you just have left us alone? Why did we have to be a part of your precious coven?”
Priscilla came to her then and put her arms about her saying “Oh June! I am so sorry! This is just terrible!” She held her then as the woman sobbed uncontrollably. After a bit she said “Yvonne warned us all not to do anything that would expose ourselves. She did it for our own good, June. There, there now. Oh June… there, there now. Lester just didn’t know that the Americans have vampires on their side too. Why, he was trying to do the right thing for our gracious King. He just didn’t have enough information before he acted. I’m sure that Yvonne and the rest of us would have been glad to go with him and take Washington’s head had he only asked. We have to bind ourselves together now and stay strong. Isn’t that what Lester would want?”
“Oh, yes, June. We all would have been glad to sit down and make a foolproof plan had we only known” said Yvonne, taking her cue from Priscilla.
Leading her to the sofa Priscilla said “June, if you can bear to, please sit here with me and tell us what went wrong, dear.”
June got herself under control and blew her nose several times, finally saying “We found the Army at Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania. We had bought two big bags of produce in Philadelphia and carried them to Valley Forge. It was easy to elude the pickets and we disguised ourselves as farmers bringing in produce to donate to the cause. About dusk we had given our produce to the supply officer and we simply hid ourselves in a large lean-to that the rebels built for a stable.”
“So you were going to do what, kill him after dark?”
“Yes. Lester and I both had sabers. We were going to overpower the sentries and cut off his head. We knew that the two of us could get through a few guards easily enough and we knew we could easily run away in the dark and that they couldn’t hope to catch us.”
“That sounds like it could work, and it would be a strong blow against the rebels for our king.” said Yvonne, looking directly at Priscilla, who nodded her approval.
“Oh my yes” said Priscilla. “What went wrong, June?”
“Washington came riding past the stable where we were hidden and Lester decided to just do it there. We never thought we could get that close with no one standing between us as when we saw him riding past.”
“Why it sounds like Lester did the right thing, taking advantage of him being that close and unguarded I mean, doesn’t it Yvonne”
“What? Oh yes, yes! I would have done the same thing. What went wrong, dear?”
“That damned vampire saw Lester when he went to jump Washington and he jumped and collided with Lester in midair.”
Yvonne became rigid and said “Another vampire?”
June said “Yes. He was just outside of the stable.”
Stefan said “So he was armed too then?”
“No. He only had a knife. It… it was just… just unbelievable what happened. He… he flung that knife so fast and I heard it hit poor Lester and he cried out. That damned vampire dodged Lester’s saber easily and…and rushed him and bowled him over; and they rolled and suddenly this damned vampire came out on top, and broke poor Lester’s sword arm and then stomped his head to mush! Oh it was awful! I could hear the bones break and poor Lester screaming for the pain!”
“Oh June! You don’t have to relive it.”
“No, I want to tell it. Lester dropped his saber and… and I came and struck him… struck him across the shoulder. I was aiming for his neck but he somehow knew I was coming up behind him! He…he ducked down so fast, and I nearly missed him! That vampire fought like a devil from hell! I will never forget that… those pale blue eyes glowing at me! Who could take a saber away from another vampire that easily and kill him?”
Yvonne gasped as she covered her mouth with one hand, her green eyes blazing hatred and surprise as she realized who June was describing.
Priscilla said “We saw Lester use a saber here. He was excellent with one.”
“Yes. My Lester was very skilled with a saber. He was big and really strong, and yet this vampire took it away from him so fast I… I did not dream that anyone could fight like that, even a vampire. He is a devil I tell you… a devil! He kicked me so hard that I flew through the air so far… I… I did not think I would ever come down and he broke some of my ribs too. Oh Priscilla, it was just awful! It hurt so badly! I ran away as fast as I could, but I kept thinking he was going to catch me and kill me too!”
Priscilla hugged June and comforted her then, saying “What an ordeal! Oh you poor thing!” Looking at Yvonne, Priscilla saw that the shock and realization had changed to pure hatred as her green eyes glowed brightly like two emeralds. At that moment Yvonne was reliving the time years ago when Ian had kicked her clear across a large room to land in a fire and she remembered the pain of the broken sternum and ribs vividly. Stefan sat rigidly next to her, eyes blazing as well. Priscilla thought June saw Ian McCloud and Yvonne knows it! That has to be it. Look at them!
Grundy got to his feet, his eyes a blazing shade of topaz as he stalked toward the women, taking a seat nearer them as he, Stefan, and Yvonne stared at each other, eyes glowing brightly.
Chapter 91
The three walked down into the earth-covered cellar of the Barstow Ice Company’s storage area. Ice from the smaller streams nearby was cut and harvested all winter long and stored below ground in piles of sawdust. The temperature in the place stayed around forty degrees in the hottest part of the summer and now in November it was around twenty five degrees. The Sheriff’s office of New York City had prevailed upon the good Mr. Barstow to allow them to store cadavers there from time to time when suspected crimes were being investigated.
Cosette followed Mr. Barstow and Deputy Ross through the narrow aisles between the cakes of Ice, now nearly gone having been used up in the warmer months by the meat and fishing industries. Their feet crunched on the gravel path as steam came from their nostrils. Cosette, remembering her earliest vampire training by Marie, made herself breathe rhythmically in order to appear to be human as they walked through the gloomy interior with three oil lamps. They came to a place where there were good sized stacks of ice cakes covered in sawdust, and shortly the two men moved enough of it to slide a corpse out of the stack. The body was covered with a sheet and its pants were still on as well, but the torso was bare.
Barstow and Ross stood aside as she bent near to look at his back, all of them holding their oil lamps near for light. She nodded then and the two of them turned the body over and again she bent to peer at the corpse, looking intently at the neck wound. Straightening, she looked at Ross and nodded, stepping back. The two shoved the large plank with its body back into the stack of ice cakes and Mr. Barstow turned, walking away.
When he had left the room, Cosette said “The bite marks look like they are human, Deputy Ross. And the bruising on his back is severe. He looks like he was crushed and bitten on the throat, like you said. Maybe both things didn’t happen at the same time though.”
“Those bruises suggest that it all happened at the same time. They are where one man would grab and hold another in a bear-hug” he said, looking intently at her thinking come now, Cosette. Open up and tell me what you know. I just know that you know something about this…
She turned then and began to walk toward the entrance hatch, Deputy Ross following her. They went up the steps then and she took her sun glasses hanging from her neck on a golden chain and put them on. They walked to the carriage where Ross assisted her to climb in. Standing there with the carriage door still open, he put one foot on the step and with both hands on sides of the door opening and said “So that is all that you have to say about it, Cosette? Really?”
She removed her sun glasses inside of the carriage then, her lovely gray eyes fastened on his and he suddenly felt as if she could look right through him. “Shall I solve your crime for you, Deputy Ross? Do I know the guilty party?”
“Now Cosette, I told you that you’re not a suspect, nor is anyone in the Millhouse residence. But I can’t help but think that you have some insight concerning this affair.”
She turned and looked out the opposite window for a bit and then she sighed and turned to him, leaning toward him a bit she lowered her voice and said “You have no idea what you are dealing with here, Deputy Ross. I have come to regard the Millhouses and Rebecca Davis all as dear friends. In fact Lucas, I like you too, truly. For their sakes as well as your own, my advice concerning this affair is to drop it and stay as far from it as you can.”
Lowering his voice too he said “So you do have some… what… knowledge of this type of thing?”
Keeping her eyes riveted on his, she nodded slightly as she spoke in a barely audible voice “I know of people who have died just because they saw one of these creatures, and I know for a fact Lucas that many have died simply because they discovered that they do exist. You, I, Rebecca, Stuart, and the Millhouses are even now in danger. I have seen this happen before. Your persistence in this matter will only make that danger greater.” She straightened herself in her seat, saying “I have lived up to my part of our bargain” Raising her voice she said “Driver, please take me back to the fish market.” as she kept her unique eyes riveted on his.
Lucas stepped back, closing the carriage door and watched it clattering up the cobblestone street from the ice house, thinking you kept your part of our bargain Cosette, but how is it that you know so much about these… creatures?
***
Arnaud Moreau pulled up the collar of his greatcoat as he walked along the wharf at Amsterdam. He spied the vessel he sought just ahead in the blowing snow, her name Greta Van der Slattenoever stood out in stark white lettering against the black of her hull. The porter behind him spoke in Dutch saying “That is your ship sir” as he pulled the cart with two goats behind him.
She was a cargo ship, making her last run for the season across the North Sea to Edinburg, and Moreau was grateful to have found a berth on her, even if he had been forced to pay quadruple the asking price for himself and his two goats. Taking a berth on any ship sailing from French or Spanish waters was out of the question. Not only was he wanted for sedition in France, but in Spain as well. He had never been to Spain until he had tried to book passage there and had seen his picture everywhere at the first Spanish port he had tried in San Sebastian.
So it was that he had journeyed to the Dutch Netherlands, out of reach of the French and Spanish monarchies. Here he had seen no wanted posters with his likeness on them and he had counted himself as most fortunate.
As he made his way up the gangway he pondered the chain of events that had led him to this place. Two large covens vanished without a trace and in two separate cities no less. The King’s Gendarmes were not even interested in the fire that destroyed my building. Not only that, but Henri Lafayette has not been seen by my agents anywhere. And now I am wanted by the Crown of not one country but two? The Marquis de Sade was right about one thing. He would have no part of a tangle with the Lafayettes without a lot of evidence. Now I know why! No doubt this Lafayette is one of the vampire bigwigs that my dead brother mentioned. I am beginning to see why he always dreaded their discovery of his activities. Damn him, damn the Lafayettes and damn my luck!
I wonder if I will find my picture everywhere in London as well? It may be that I should have gone to the Swiss Confederation for the winter before the passes were closed by weather. And now I learn that the one ship I can find in the Netherlands that is sailing for Great Britain is taking her last voyage for the year. All others have stopped any service to Britain for the winter already. What does that say for the weather that we’ll encounter? Maybe I should have tried to swim across from Calais. But what if a current caught me and I was out there still swimming after sunrise? Maybe I should have brought three goats along to feed from. Will Edwards want to put up more money to get this Henri Lafayette, or will he turn on me? Damn Henri Lafayette and Ian McCloud! I hope those two in America are having better luck with their mission than I have had with mine!
